The Union of Judges in Bulgaria has written open letters to President Rumen Radev asking him to veto controversial changes to two laws, claiming that they contain unconstitutional texts.

Bulgaria has been strongly criticised by the European Union for the lack of reform of its judicial system. The ruling GERB party has pledged to reform the system, even though it failed during its first two mandates.

In its report on Bulgaria in January the European Commission noted that the country had failed to make any significant progress in the past 10 years. Bulgaria has made slow progress in the fight against top-level corruption and organised crime, which resulted in a lack of trust among citizens in the judicial system. 

Although the third government led by Prime Minister Boyko Borissov has pledged to take serious steps to reform the judicial system, so far it has only proposed changes to the Criminal Procedure Code and the Judicial System Act, which have been strongly criticised by local politicians, magistrates and international institutions.

The amendments were adopted by the Bulgarian parliament in July, using an urgent procedure without any debate. Both were supported by the ethnic-Turk Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS), which is officially in opposition but believed to informally support the ruling coalition. 

In their letters to Radev, the judges claimed that the amendments violate the rights of some of some members of the judiciary. They also oppose privileges for magistrates who have been elected to served the supreme court. Those magistrates will be allowed to select any position they want after their mandate expires.

“Is this inexplicable, opaque and hasty legislative process, which has inevitably lead to the lack of a wide public discussion and impact assessment of the bill, related to the forthcoming election of a chairman of the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) by the members of SAC who are getting a promise of privileges,” the judges asked in one of the letters.

The Union of Judges also claimed that some of the amendments violate the constitution as they allow the prosecution to order the dismissal of a magistrate in case of an ongoing investigation without the need for a ruling by SAC, and without allowing the magistrates to defend themselves.

“This amendment puts the magistrates in a drastically more unequal position than all other citizens,” the union said in one of the two letters.

The union also opposed plans for magistrates to be tried by a special court for organised crime.

“The very idea that high representatives of the state authorities should be tried by the specialised court for organised crime along with organisers and participants in organised criminal groups represents a devaluation of the idea of statehood and allows suggestions for possible political arbitrariness,” the union said.

On July 25, the international organisation MEDEL (Magistrats européens pour la démocratie et les libertés) also expressed concerns that the legislative changes limit the rights of magistrates to free association, envisaging a text that will require them to declare their membership to professional organisations.

“The proposed prohibitions are a threat to the existence and future of professional judicial associations, and will severely curtail the possibilities for Bulgarian magistrates to act together with a view to furthering their professional development, standing up for their rights and upholding the rule of law in Bulgaria,” MEDEL has said.

Bulgarian magistrates also claim that the changes will make the criminal proceedings slower and more complicated instead of speeding them as pledged by the ruling party.